The first round of the 2018 JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship kicked-off on July 6, 2018 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. Here’s the lowdown on how the races panned out in all four categories:
Euro JK 18
Chennai’s Karthik Tharani and Sri Lanka’s Bryan Perera claimed two race wins, each over the opening round in the Euro JK 18 category - Tharani winning Races 1 and 4, and Perera winning Races 2 and 3. Nayan Chatterjee claimed a podium finish thrice over the weekend, finishing Races 2 and 3 in second place, and clinching the last podium spot for Race 4.
However, it was Ashwin Datta’s consistency across the four races that propelled him to the top of the leader board with 24 points. The Chennai racer enjoyed a good run, finishing second in Race 4 and third in Races 2 and 3. Perera and Tharani have accumulated 23 points each, while Chatterjee clinched 20 points.
RESULTS
Race 1:
1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai; 15:29.526) , 2. Nirmal Uma Shankar (Chennai; 15:31.424), 3. Manav Sharma (Faridabad; 15:34.487)
Race 2:
1. Bryan Perera (Sri Lanka, 15:22.568); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai, 15:26.377); 3. Ashwin Datta (Chennai, 15:29.942)
Race 3:
1. Bryan Perera (Sri Lanka, 14:15.491); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai, 14:17.269); 3. Ashwin Datta (Chennai, 14:23.294)
Race 4:
1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai, 15:33.789); 2. Ashwin Datta (Chennai, 15:34.334); Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai, 15:34.403)
LGB 4
In the LGB 4 category, Vishnu Prasad thwarted a challenge from Sandeep Kumar and Raghul Rangasamy to win a competitive Race 1. The category saw three different winners over the weekend with Rohit Khanna winning Race 2 and Rangasamy winning Race 3. Prasad and Chittesh Mandody took second and third place in both, Race 2 and 3, to pick up valuable points.
At the end of Round 1, it is Vishnu Prasad who leads the standings with 22 points, followed by Rangasamy with 21 points and Khanna with 17 points.
The Ahura Racing team also grabbed plenty of attention, making history by becoming the first all-women racing team to compete in India.
RESULTS
Race 1:
1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport; 18:03.844), 2. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don; 18:04.983). 3. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 18:11.014)
Race 2:
1. Rohit Khanna (Dark Don, 16:56.965); 2. Chittesh Mandody (Kolhapur, 16:59.249); 3. Vishnu Prasad (MSport; 17:02.297)
Race 3:
1. Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 21:56.544); Chittesh Mandody (Kolhapur, 21:57.698); 3. Vishnu Prasad (MSport; 21:59.430)
Suzuki Gixxer Cup
It was a clean sweep for defending Gixxer Cup champion Joseph Matthew, who won both the races over the weekend. Malsawmdawngliana and Syed Muzamil Ali grabbed the remaining podium spots for both races, with the former finishing Race 1 in second place and Race 2 in third place.
RESULTS
Race 1:
1. Joseph Matthew (Chennai; 14:15.877), 2. Malsawmdawngliana (Aizawl; 14:19.122), 3. Syed Muzamil Ali (Bengaluru; 14:19.181)
Race 2:
1. Joseph Matthew (Chennai; 14:16.799), 2. Syed Muzamil Ali (Bengaluru; 14:18.749); 3. Malsawmdawngliana (Aizawl; 14:19.951)
Red Bull Road To Rookies
Zothanmawia dominated the Red Bull Road to Rookies event that was held alongside the Gixxer Cup, clinching victory in both races. Andy Lalhmangaihsang and Jerome Vanlalrengpuia completed Race 1 in second and third place, swapping positions to then finish Race 2 in third and second place, respectively.
RESULTS
Race 1:
1. Zothanmawia (Aizawl; 14:23.901), 2. Andy Lalhmangaihsang (Aizawl; 14:47.701); 3. Jerome Vanlalrengpuia (Mizoram; 14:50.264)
Race 2:
1. Zothanmawia (Aizawl; 14:36.129), 2. Jerome Vanlalrengpuia (Mizoram; 15:04.514); 3. Andy Lalhmangaihsang (Aizawl; 15:13.476)